阅读理解

　　All over the world people enjoy sports．Sports help to keep people healthy, happy and help them to live longer．

　　Sports change with the season．People play different games in winter and summer．Games and sports often grow out of people's work and everyday activities．The Arabs use horses or camels in much of their everyday life：they use them in their sports, too．

　　Some sports are so interesting that people everywhere go in for them．Football, for example, has spread around the world．Swimming is popular in all countries near the sea or in those with many rivers．

　　Some sports or games go back thousands of years, like running or jumping．Chinese boxing, for example, has a very long history．But basketball and volleyball are rather new．Neither one is a hundred years old yet．People are inventing new sports or games all the time

　　People from different countries may not be able to understand each other, but after a game they often become good friends．Sports help to train a person's character．One learns to fight hard but fight fair, to win without pride and to lose with grace．

阅读理解

　　The disadvantage you usually find about MP3 players like the iPod is that they are too big．But get ready for the MP3 player in your hand to get much smaller－the size of a Band-Aid(创可贴)．

　　It’s called the Skinny Player, and it’s being designed by industrial designers Chih-Wei Wang and Shou-His Fu．Unlike the current types of iPod Shuffles and iPod Nanos, the Skinny Player does not need to be fixed onto your clothes or put into your pocket．It could stick to your skin(皮肤)like you would attach a Band-Aid．But unlike Band-Aids, this tiny MP3 player will not lose its stickiness as you pull it off for the hundredth time．

　　The Skinny Player features flexible speakers allowing the user to enjoy music conveniently．When it gets dirty, the user can simply clean it using a damp cloth．No batteries either．The Skinny Player’s designers say it will be powered by body heat, using a flexible battery charging device(充电器)that is in contact with skin whenever the player is being used．

　　The design only includes an on/off button and flexible speakers, no word yet on arranging the volume．Besides, the memory capacity(储存容量)won’t be the best, as it is designed to only store one album．

　　The small size and the ability to stick it onto your skin like a Band-Aid should make the Skinny Player perfect for runners who now depend on their iPod to keep them energized on the running path．

阅读理解

　　Send us your joke, anecdote or story, and if we publish it in the magazine, we’ll pay as follows： My Story ＄500

　　Personal stories beyond the call of daily life．They must be unpublished, original and less than 1000 words．Click here to read more stories．

　　Kindness of Strangers Up to ＄250

　　True accounts of goodness, inspiring acts of unexpected kindness and generosity, or just something someone did that made your day－or change your life．100-500 words．Click here to read more stories．

　　Anecdotes and Jokes ＄50-＄250

　　Funny things can happen at work and at home－especially when kids are around to pass comment．We may run your writing in Life’s Like That, All in a Day’s Work or As Kids See It, or as a short filler．Got a new joke? Send it in for Laughter, the Best Medicine．Click here to read more stories．

　　Smart Animals Up to ＄150

　　Has your cat worked out how to use a can-opener? Is your rabbit planting carrot crops? Tell us about clever pets or wildlife in up to 300 words．Click here to read more stories．

　　Send us Your Punchline(妙语连珠)

　　So you think of yourself as a bit of a jokester? See if you can come up with a punchline to this month’s joke…

　　You Said It

　　If you’d like to comment on something you saw in Reader’s Digest magazine or on this website, this is the place to do it!

　　Is It Just Me

　　Can you be humorous about the trials and mysteries of modern life? Get it off your chest in 500 words．Click here to read more stories．

阅读理解

　　The Internet has led to a huge increase in credit-card fraud(欺诈罪)．Your card information could even be for sale in an illegal website．

　　On-line shoppers who enter their credit-card information may never receive the goods they bought they bought．The thieves then go shopping with your card number－or sell the information over the Internet．Computers hackers have broken down security systems, raising questions about the safety of cardholder information．Several months ago, 25 000 customers of CD Universe, an on-line music retailer(零售商), were not lucky．Their names, addresses and credit-card numbers were posted on a Web site after the retailer refused to pay US ＄157 828 to get back the information．

　　Credit-card firms are now fighting against on-line fraud．Mastercard is working on plans for Web-only credit card, with a lower credit limit．The card could be used only for shopping on-line．However, there are a few simple steps you can take to keep from being cheated．

　　Ask about your credit-card firm's on-line rules：Under British law, cardholders are responsible for the first US ＄78 of any fraudulent(欺骗性的)spending．

　　Shop only at secure sites．Send your credit-card information only if the Web site offers advanced secure system．If the security is in place, a letter will appear in the bottom right hand corner of your screen．The Web site address may also start https：//-the extra “s” stands for secure．If in doubt, give your credit-card information over the telephone．

　　Keep your password safe：most online sites require a user name and password before placing an order．Treat your passwords with care．

阅读理解

　　(London)－If it really is what’s on the inside that counts, then a lot of thin people might be in trouble．

　　Some doctors now think that the internal(内部的)fat surrounding important organs like the heart or liver could be as dangerous as the external(外部的)fat which can be noticed more easily．

　　“Being thin doesn’t surely mean you are not fat,” said Dr Jimmy Bell at Imperial College．Since 1994, Bell and his team have scanned nearly 800 people with MRI machines to create “fat maps” showing where people store fat．

　　According to the result, people who keep their weight through diet rather than exercise are likely to have major deposits of internal fat, even if they are slim．

　　Even people with normal Body Mass Index scores can have surprising levels of fat deposits inside．Of the women, as many as 45 percent of those with normal BMI scores(20 to 25)actually had too high levels of internal fat．Among men, the percentage was nearly 60 percent．

　　According to Bell, people who are fat on the inside are actually on the edge of being fat．They eat too many fatty and sugary foods, but they are not eating enough to be fat．Scientists believe we naturally store fat around the belly first, but at some point, the body may start storing it elsewhere．

　　Doctors are unsure about the exact dangers of internal fat, but some think it has something to do with heart disease and diabetes．They want to prove that internal fat damages the body’s communication systems．

　　The good news is that internal fat can be easily burned off through exercise or even by improving your diet．“If you want to be healthy, there is no short cut．Exercise has to be an important part of your lifestyle,” Bell said．

阅读理解

A．You and Me, Baby

B．Ruff Ruff! Where's Scruff?

C．The Giving Tree

D．Where the Wild Things Are

阅读理解

　　Dior was born in Normandy in 1905, and his family’s original plans for him included a career(职业)in the diplomatic(外交的)service, but by the time he was twenty-three, with his parents’ money, he opened a small art gallery in Paris．By 1931, the money had been used up．Dior’s friends in the art gallery asked him to draw and he took his first step at designing and drawing．His first job was with Lucien Lelong from whom Dior learned his craft(手艺)．

　　In February, 1947, Dior started the New Look in his first major Paris collection．He was backed by a famous textile(纺织品)producer, Boussac, who looked after the dollars, while Dior looked after the fashions．Dior knew nothing about cutting and sewing, but he was good at fashion design．

　　The New Look started an entirely different look to costume(服装), with a tiny waist, a rounded shoulder and a shapely bust(胸围), usually with a low-cut neckline and a long full skirt．To women who had lived through the war years, the femaleness of the New Look was a great success, for people were tired of the extremely plain, wartime restrictive fashions．

　　A New kook House of Dior opened in 1948, followed by one in London．Considered as King of Couture for years, the Dior Empire(大企业)grew until it covered every country in the western world, and included furs, hosiery(针织品), perfumes, men’s wear and so on．

　　His sudden death in 1957 when he was 52 years old did not stop the growth of the House of Dior．Even now, so many years after his death, his name is closely connected with fashion throughout the world, and indeed is one of the most recognized names in the world．

阅读理解

　　For thousands of years, man has enjoyed the taste of apples．Apples, which are about 85 percent water, grow almost everywhere in the world but the hottest and coldest areas．Among the leading countries in apple production are China France and the United States．

　　There are various kinds of apples but a very few make up the majority of those grown for sale．The three most common kinds grown in the United States are Delicious golden Delicious and McIntosh．

　　Apples are different in colour size and taste．The colour of the skin may be red green or yellow．They have various sizes with Delicious apples being among the largest．The taste may be sweet or tart(酸的)．Generally sweet apples are eaten fresh while tart apples are used to make applesauce(苹果酱)．Apples can also be found in many foods(especially desserts)and drinks．Many beneficial health effects have been found from eating apples．However, the seeds are slightly poisonous．

　　Apple trees may grow as tall as twelve metres．They do best in areas that have very cold winters．Although no fruit is yielded during the winter this cold period is good for the tree．

　　At least 55 million tons of apples were grown worldwide in 2010, with a value of about ＄ 10 billion．China produced about 35％ of this total．The United States was the second-leading producer, with more than 7.5％ of world production．Iran was third, followed by Turkey, Russia, Italy and India．

阅读理解

　　South African surgeons have carried out the world’s first organ transplant(移植)from one HIV-positive person to another, in a groundbreaking operation that opens the way to saving thousands of lives．The South African government previously hadn’t allowed HIV-positive people to receive transplants or to donate organs-a policy criticized by some people in the medical establishment of a country where one in five adults is HIV-positive．

　　But the policy was ended last year, opening the way for more operations, and possibly giving HIV-positive patients a greater chance of receiving new kidneys(肾脏)than those not infected(感染)with the Aids virus, because there are more potential donors．(捐赠者)

　　"HIV patients are at a disadvantage when it comes to getting an organ and dialysis(透析)．Even when we try to be fair, they are at a disadvantage competing with people with no chronic illness," she said．"This study opens up an opportunity to help them, even gives them a slight advantage, because of the high number of HIV-positive donors．"

　　According to Miller, if the kidney transplants were successful in the long term it would open the way to the use of other organs such as livers, which are particularly vulnerable because anti – AIDS drugs can easily damage them．

　　However, the transplants remain controversial(有争议的)because they almost certainly mean that the recipient will become infected with the virus strain that infected the donor, which may be different from the one they carry and increase their resistance(抵抗)to anti-Aids drugs．

　　There are also concerns that HIV-positive organs could themselves have been damaged by the disease, making them less durable as transplants．

　　But news of the transplants has brought new hope to many．Dr June Fabian, a consultant nephrologist at Johannesburg hospital, said some of her HIV-positive patients stood to benefit from accepting HIV-positive organs．

阅读理解

　　If you are hungry, what do you do? Grab a piece of your favorite meal and stay quiet after that? Just like your stomach, even your mind is hungry．But it never lets you know, because you keep it busy thinking about your dream lover, favorite star and many such absurd things．So it silently began to heed to your needs and never let itself grow．When mind looses its freedom to grow, creativity gets a full stop．This might be the reason why we all sometimes think "What happens next?", "Why can't I think?", "Why am I always given the difficult problems?" Well this is the aftermath of our own karma(因果报应)of using our brain for thinking of not-so-worthy things．

　　Hunger of the mind can be actually satiated through extensive reading．Now why reading and not watching TV? Because reading has been the most educative tool used by us right from the childhood．Just like that to develop other aspects of our life, we have to take help of reading．You have innumerable(数不清的)number of books in this world which will answer all your “How to?” questions．Once you read a book, you just don't run your eyes through the lines, but even your mind decodes(诠释)it and explains it to you．The interesting part of the book is stored in your mind as a seed．Now this seed is unknowingly used by you in your future to develop new ideas．The same seed if used many times, can help you link and relate a lot of things, of which you would have never thought of in your wildest dreams! This is nothing but creativity．More the number of books you read, your mind will open up like never before．Also this improves your speech-making skills to a large extent and also makes a significant contribution to your vocabulary．Within no time you start speaking English or any language fluently with your friends or other people and you never seem to run out of the right words at the right time．

　　Actually, I had a problem in speaking English fluently, but as I read, I could improve significantly．I am still on the path of improvement to satisfy my thirst for satisfaction．So guys do join me and give food for your thoughts by reading, reading and more reading．Now what are you waiting for? GO, grab a book, and let me know!